


A Doll of My Own

by TonyGrayson



Series: Doll [2]
Category: Batman (Comics), DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Brainwashing, Canon what is canon?, Dollhouse inspired, I live for swearing Jason btw, Implied Non-Con, M/M, due to the brainwashing, may add other tags as I write
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-13
Updated: 2020-06-22
Packaged: 2021-03-02 22:55:06
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24154654
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonyGrayson/pseuds/TonyGrayson
Summary: It has been two years since they took down the Owl's nest in Gotham. During this time, the Court has been laying low.But now they had a lead. They received information that someone connected to the crime organization was to attend this gala ball.Was the Court of Owls resurfacing? Why were they at Gotham? Did they come back for Dick?Jason and Dick went to get answers, but Jason got even more questions when an unexpected guest joined them.
Relationships: Dick Grayson/Jason Todd, Dick Grayson/Slade Wilson
Series: Doll [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1743103
Comments: 76
Kudos: 134





	1. A Too Long While

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the second part of the Doll series ╰(*°▽°*)╯
> 
> If you are new to the story, I cannot guarantee you can read this without first reading the first part. But you can always try to get the information through the context.
> 
> Please, keep in mind that more tags may be added, some with warnings.
> 
> In any case, I hope you enjoy! 💙💙💙

"They are all staring. I know we wanted to get attention to ourselves, but this is too much," Jason muttered between his teeth, while pretending to be pleased with the range of choice presented on the appetizer table.

"I know, right? We should have predicted this. We are the hottest couple in the room. Maybe I should have come with Damian after all," Dick joked, as he leaned against Jason while glancing and winking at a small group of young women who had been watching the duo intently. They all quickly looked away with a blush in their cheeks.

Yeah, they both looked really nice in those suits.

"Hell would break loose. Do you really think the demon spawn would be able to keep it to himself and behave? One glance in his direction from someone besides the desired target and the gremlin would start barking insults. You'd be lucky if you two just ended up being removed from the building." 

They had their mikes turned off at the moment. They decided to do so not much after the shorty started shrieking at their ears, irritated at the constant flirting between the pair.

Jason knew Dick was just teasing him about Damian, but he still felt like he needed to remind the blue bird that the new Robin was lacking self-control for this type of mission. The brat was full of himself and actually thought he would be a better choice to come with Dick, for this one.

~~~

"I cannot fathom why Todd is going instead of me." Damian said, frowning.

"The fact that you are throwing a tantrum should be enough for you to understand why." Jason replied.

"I am NOT throwing a tantrum!" Damian yelled in irritation while literally putting is foot down.

"Uh-huh. So convincing."

"Stop it, you two." Bruce said without taking his eyes of the computer. "Dick, why are you letting this on?"

"Sorry, I'm just moved. Seeing them fight over me is so... touching!" Dick replied, putting his hand over his chest in a dramatic gesture.

"No one is fighting over you, Grayson!" Damian quickly retorted, as his face went red.

"Aww, I love you too Dami. I think maybe you should come as the beloved little brother you are, and I could use that to start conversations. You know, tell everyone how adorable you are and how I love you so much."

"You better now screw this up, Todd." Damian hissed and fled. 

~~~~

The spawn of the Devil was brought in by his mother, around two years ago, not long after Dick joined the family. The kid had been a nightmare since the beginning, but soon Dick started charming his way through the boy's defenses. 

Damian and Dick had something in common. They were both newcomers who were former assassins and strongly tied to Bruce. Dick played that to his advantage. 

Then there was the incident with Bane that made Bruce step out of the Bat cowl for a while. After some discussion, they ended up agreeing that Dick would be the one stepping forward as Batman. Jason's physique was clearly closer to the old man's, but Bruce would rather be dead than letting the Bat be seen using guns. Even if they were loaded with rubber bullets. 

So, Dick was Batman for a while, and he decided that Damian would be his Robin. 

Jason would never forget the replacement's face when hearing about Dick's choice. 

Priceless! 

At first, TimTim turned to him as if he had had any negative influence in the decision, but then Dick explained his reasoning and the teen understood. He didn't like it, but he understood. 

Pity. 

It would have been a great opportunity to pester the kid about being replaced. Not that Jason didn't end up doing it, anyway.

Dick and Damian got to strengthen their bond, much to Jason's chagrin. Because of that, he ended up getting too much unwanted and annoying attention from the baby bat. Something about how he could not understand what made "Grayson" choose to be with Jason. The kid was clearly jealous that he was taking a lot of Dick's time, since the blue bird was probably the only person who had shown Damian open -brotherly? fatherly?- affection. He would not admit it, of course. But Jason had heard how the imp addressed to Dick when he thought no one was listening. Heard how he would call him "Richard".

"Target spotted at four o'clock." Dick said, brushing Jason out of his thoughts.

"Let's hope he wants to have a chat with the returning son of Bruce Wayne." 

Lincoln March, the host of the party, was running for Mayor.

According to Bruce, the man was apparently clean. His projects for Gotham were interesting in a way that they focused on the improvement of the city. They targeted the more troubled areas, without too much fake idealism that screamed a call for votes and no intentions to actually do anything to change the current state of things.

That didn't really mean that March was a good person, though. If they had learned anything through their experience with Gotham's public figures is that appearing to be clean and helpful could mean that they were more dangerous than the typical corrupt ones with obvious agendas. At least, the intentions of latter were easy to discover, and easier to deal with. 

In any case, they were keeping an eye on the man. Just to be sure.

Today, Lincoln March had a part to play on their mission. 

They had received information that someone connected to the Court of Owls was to attend this gala. There was little information to whether this person knew about Dick, or even if they were here on the Court's business at all. Still, this was a lead they had to follow, no matter how small it was. 

They haven't heard much about the Court during the past two years, after they dismantled Gotham's nest and spread the word through the superhero/vigilante community around the world. They never genuinely believed that the Owls were extinct, though. Just that they went into hiding, so they could heal their wounds before re-emerging strong, once again. That is why the Bat Inc. kept its ears sharp for any news of the cult. And now they had the first lead in a long time.

Problem was, they had no idea who the person was. And that was where March was going to -unknowingly- be of help. If he were to take the bait, he would want to leave a good impression with Dick and introduce him to the other guests. The man had shown interest in getting Wayne Enterprises endorsing and funding his campaign, but Bruce had been avoiding the subject since he didn't trust the man yet. Harvey Dent had also been someone who Bruce believed would make a difference, and he probably would if not for the Maroni incident that made the man go mad. 

Now they needed to exploit this interest, even if they had to pretend the Waynes were willing to listen.

To be fair, Timmers would have been the best choice to come with Dick. He was the son people associated with Wayne Enterprises, despite the fact he was still in his teens. But Red Robin was otherwise occupied with a mission with the Titans, so Jason had to step in, instead. Not as Jason Todd, of course, but as Peter Lebenn, Richard Grayson's close friend, and a philosophy major with special interest in political philosophy.

They were about making themselves noticed when March was approached by one of his assistants, who informed the man of something that made him leave the room. Great... Now they had to continue to wait while a bunch of entitled high society people looked at them with curiosity, though few tried to engage in conversation. 

Dick had made the headlines a while ago, as the returning adopted son of Bruce Wayne, who had been away for whatever reason. The Court of Owls already knew about Bruce being Batman, so there was no point in keeping Dick in the shadows. Bringing him to the spotlight was probably safer.

When Dick was a kid and disappeared, his absence was a topic of speculation by the media. Some would say that Bruce sent him away, to an intern school, since he had only wanted to take the boy in as a ward to promote his image of a charitable person. Others would defend that Bruce was showing he could be responsible enough to understand he should try to keep the boy away from the cameras. Last time something similar had happened, they got a Brucie Wayne. And one was enough. 

Nowadays the speculation went around his sudden return to the surface. As a charming and highly educated young man, he quickly became a favorite of the gossip vultures that tried to pass as journalists. 

When Damian "debuted" not much after, it became common belief that the brothers had been growing up together all this time. 

In any case, these people seemed not to be sure if taking initiative by introducing themselves would make them look good or bad. They clearly wanted to meet Dick though, whatever their intentions. Jason guessed they were all waiting for March to do the honors. 

If TimTomTum were here, they would have already spoken with, at least, half of the room, and would not need to wait for March. But Jason would never say such thing out loud. No, thank you.

Suddenly, Jason sensed an unwelcome familiar presence approaching them.

"It is nice to meet you once again." 

Jason knew right away whose voice that was, even without having to turn to see the man who had spoken. But turn he did, and there he was.

Slade Wilson.

What the fuck was the man doing there? The mercenary hadn't been seen in Gotham for a long while now. Did he have a contract? Shit, that could ruin their plans. 

Was he the Court's contact? 

"It has been a while, Mr. Wilson."

Jason turned to Dick, trying to keep his surprise from showing in his face, after hearing those words from his partner. 

Dick knew who Slade was. They had him study all the key figures related to not only the bats Friends and foes. But this was something else. 

Dick _knew_ Slade. 

When did that happen? Before or after he joined them? And why didn't he tell him? Did Bruce know?

"A too long while, if I must say," Slade replied.

Jason didn't like where this was going.

"May I present you my friend, Peter Lebenn."

"Oh, we are already acquainted, isn't that right, Mr. Lebenn?" Slade said with a provocative smirk.

"For a too long while," Jason said low enough to only be heard by the three of them, with a -fake- smile on his face.

Slade replied with the widening of his grin, which Jason just wanted to punch out of his face.

"I am afraid I have the ill intention of stealing your partner away, Mr. Lebenn," The old man said as proceeded to turn to Dick, "Will you give me the honor of the next dance, Mr. Grayson-Wayne?"

Before Jason could say something in the lines of "no fucking way", Dick hastily replied. 

"Just Grayson," He corrected, "And of course! It has been long due."

Jason stood corrected. He fucking hated where this was going.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know what to say.  
> It is late and I should not be posting stuff at this hour. I need to sleep XD
> 
> I still hope you like this continuation 💙


	2. Waltz

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just finished writing chapter 6 so I thought I could let myself share chapter 2 with you 💙

Who knew that, after months of looking into the Court of Owls business, Slade would hear about this particular owlet from Gotham's local news? And just after he got informed that the city's nest was taken down by the bats.

Richard John Grayson. Bruce Wayne's son.

The timing of the appearance of the newest addition to the batlings was also telling. 

The bird was now Nightwing.

It took some time, especially with the Owl's apparent inactivity, but Slade came to discover what happened between the birds and the bats.

Will was free. Or should he say "dead"?

William Crowne was the name Slade came to know Richard as.

No, not Richard. Richard was another person. The young man he met then wasn't "alive" anymore. Could one say he had even existed, in the first place? If all one has of their life are fabricated memories, that were meant to be wiped away, should _that_ person be seen as such?

In the end, it did not matter. It would not change the fact that Will no longer inhabited that body.

But Slade was curious. He wanted to meet the _real_ person the bird was. Wanted to know if he still remembered.

Unfortunate circumstances delayed the reunion. Either on his side, or on the ex-Owl's, life made it difficult to find a good time to try the approach.

Then came a whispered hoot. Someone with connections to the Court of Owls was in Gotham. Alissia Prentice. 

The woman was not of the highest notoriety, but had previous connections to the city, Gotham being her hometown, and was quietly sniffing around its politics. For what he learned, she was not a member of the secret society, so it _was_ possible she was just returning to her roots, looking for a new place in the old contacts. Slade was not convinced that to be the case. 

Still, it was an opportunity he would not let pass.

He anonymously tipped the bat colony, withholding a lot of information about the woman.

As expected, they took it seriously.

And now here they were, at a gala ball thrown by a promising candidate for Gotham's next mayoral election.

"I assume you know I am not who you met before," Richard said, as they bowed before beginning the dance.

"That is correct," Slade confirmed, "May I ask you if you remember whom I met before?"

Slade offered his left hand, to indicate the intention to lead the dance.

"Marginally, I must confess most of what I remember came to me the moment I met you in person," Richard confessed, accepting the offer, by taking his hand.

"Oh?" Slade said, recalling the expression on Richard's eyes, just a few minutes ago, when they locked into his own, "And care to tell me what exactly you remember?"

Slade's right hand slid to Richard's left shoulder blade, Richard resting his left hand on Slade's right shoulder.

"Something that tells me we shared a mission."

Slade chuckled at that. 

He pulled Richard even closer than before.

"Oh, we shared much more than that, little bird."

He was sure the others were listening.

\---

" _Just remember to keep it cool,_ " Bruce said to Jason. 

Dick had discretely turned his comms on, before leaving to the dance floor with Slade, and Jason followed suit.

"Muzzle the chihuahua barking at my ear, and maybe I'll be able to find the necessary strength to do just that," Jason replied while taking a sip of his drink to conceal his talking.

" _You are inutile! I know I should have gone instead of you! How can you just let Wilson take Ri-_ " The voice was cut off.

"Did you just mute the gnome's mike, B?" 

In any other situation, Jason would have spilt his drink by snorting. But watching Dick dancing the waltz with Deathstroke, while the old man implied he had once been close to one of Dick's personas, extinguished any sort of amusement from his soul.

\---

Dick believed he should be feeling uncomfortable. It was an uncomfortable situation, after all. He wasn't though. And that was worrying him.

Deathstroke was one of the most dangerous enemies of the batfamily. 

When his now dancing partner's name and face appeared on the very first "villains to watch out for" presentation Bruce gave him, something in him clicked right away. 

He had no memories of dealing with him per se, but he looked familiar, and so did the sound of his name. He told B about it. Bruce took note of it, as well as the other names Dick had heard before, simply because of their fame. Or infamy. 

Still, he always felt there was something different about Slade. 

It wasn't until he actually saw the man in person that he knew why. 

Meeting him had acted like a trigger.

He had prided himself in the way he kept the important information from the memories he had from his different personas. Sure, he didn't remember everything. More like, he didn't remember most of it. But he did hold on to the most crucial info. Important names and faces, as well as why they were important. Sharing a mission with Deathstroke sounded important. Why could he not remember that before? Even now, it was something very vague in the back of his mind, together with the strings of the orchestra playing the melody of a Russian waltz.

"May I ask the name of the man you met?"

One, two, three. One, two, three.

"William Crowne."

Natural spin turn.

"Ring a bell?" Slade asked.

One, two, three. One, two, three.

"Separately, yes. But not related to my personas."

"Related to you, then."

"Indeed. But you already knew that."

The music was calling for a change of partners with the couple at their side. Dick was surprised that he was _not_ surprised when Slade ignored the woman he was supposed to address to, blocked the man who had extended his hand to Dick, and kept them going. 

"Indeed. What about Kite?"

Dick made an apologetic face to the couple. The woman was looking at them as if insulted and the man was looking, huh, disappointed?

"Cannot say it does."

That sounded like a codename. Probably his at the time. It was common for his personas to have codenames related to birds of prey.

Why are you here, Mr. Wilson?"

Face to face, back to back.

"Call me Slade, please," the man said with a soft voice, "Would you believe if I said I am here for you?"

They should have been switching back to their original partners. Had they made the switch in the first place.

"At this moment, I would consider it as a possibility, yes. But that still does not answer my question. My memories are not enough for me to know what I should be worried for."

They changed into a semi-shadow hold. Dick was a bit to Slade's right, his back was turned to taller man. Left hand on left hand. Right hand on the right hand that was on his hip, way below where it should be. The grip was firm.

"What makes you believe there are reasons that could make you worry?" Slade whispered the question in his ear.

Being an "active" had trained Dick well enough for him to know how to keep calm in situations like this. In normal circumstances, he would not even bat an eye to the lurking threat. But, at this moment, he could not keep his heart from beating fast. Not that he was worried for himself. 

He was worried about the success of their mission. 

When he followed Slade to the dance floor, he turned his microphone on, but he turned his earpiece off the moment Damian started ranting. He loved the kid to death, but not only it would be hard to concentrate on getting the intel, he was actually worried Slade ended up hearing the boy. Not that the older man didn't know that Dick was bugged. Everything indicated he knew.

Dick was worried that the night would end with Robin crashing through one of the windows, and their target running away, never to be heard from again.

He avoided glancing at Jason. Didn't want Slade's attention on him. Slade might know who they are, but there is a change he didn't know about their relationship.

Dick trusted his lover not interfere, even if the man was probably fuming, right now.

They returned to the original positions.

"Whether or not you and 'William' parted ways amicably, you may have reasons to resent me. Why else would you give yourself the trouble?"

"Maybe I just wanted to know if there was a hint of the charming young man I once knew. Somewhere buried in there."

The last notes of the waltz were played, and the dance came to an end.

They bowed.

"Do you want him to be here?" Dick asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I **love** classical music. Including several waltzes. **But** I have never danced any waltz nor do I know how to. I ended up spending a lot of time watching videos and such to get the description in here XD I am truly sorry if it doesn't make much sense, in case you do understand about waltz dance.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed 💙💙💙
> 
> As it is usual with me, I'll post the next chapter in a week, unless I get to write more than expected :)


	3. The Flying Kite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Didn't get to finish a chapter this last week 😥
> 
> Anyway, the ~~~ represent a change of time (like from past to present, or present to past).

There was a knock on the door, followed by a cheerful voice, "Hey, daddy! Open up, it's me!" 

_Daddy_.

Slade was already regretting this arrangement.

As he opened the door, he got flashed by a bright smile from a -very beautiful- young face.

"Brought your favorite!" The kid said, as he raised his hands, holding paper bags from a nearby fast food restaurant. 

"You mean _your_ favorite," Slade grunted.

"Aw, I get grumpy dad today? Did you miss your beauty sleep?" asked his "son", as he happily entered the apartment.

Slade closed the door as the boy checked his smart band for bugs.

"I have checked the place myself," Slade said, "we are good to talk."

"I apologize," the young man said with a now polite tone, "Protocol."

"I understand."

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Wilson. I am Kite. Not my real name. I will be the one accompanying you to your mission," Kite said.

He took the food from the paper bags, as well as small plastic bags with some equipment, he then proceeded to give Slade.

"Compliments from the Court," the young man said with a grin, "You can use this to track, or incapacitate me. The instructions are inside, and you should have had been provided with the codes, already."

"Has anyone ever used this to 'incapacitate' you?" Slade asked as he inspected the device. 

Slade had the idea that the Court of Owls were very particular in the way they kept their assets. But this hinted that insubordination was something they could expect from their 'actives', as the Court called them.

"Out of necessity, no," Kite shrugged, still with a grin on his face, "but I've had clients that liked to explore and exploit the possibilities presented to them."

"Do as you are supposed to, and you won't have to expect me to be curious of how this works."

"I don't know if you have been familiarized with the Court's work, but I assure you I am the best at what I do," Kite said without a hint of pride.

"You do come very well recommended, yes. But I will only decide that after the job is done."

It was Wintergreen that told Slade about the Court of Owls' resources. Before that, he had only heard the name whispered here or there.

His target was Adela Hodson, the young new wife of the magnate Woodrow Hodson. Some well-intentioned relations of the man found out about the woman's connections to the underworld and wanted her gone. 

Woodrow was not a good businessman. His power was inherited, and he was expected to run his mother's shipping company, being the only son. He was smart enough to let others do the hard work, while he enjoyed the perks of a rich man's life. All he had to do was stay out of scandals. 

That meant hiding the fact he was gay. 

Nowadays, he might have been able to live outside the closet. But the man was in his fifties and was entrusted with the family business at his mid-twenties. At the time, he had no choice, and now it was too late.

Adela was in fact Louise Newman, one of Andrei Newman's daughters. The Newmans were a mafia family that had influence in several countries worldwide, hence the interest in Hodson's company.

The couple were about to enjoy a long honeymoon at Saint Barthélemy, and his employers were worried Adela would manage to return gestating an heir. They wanted her gone and fast.

For this job, Slade decided it was best to bring company. 

Going alone to the island would turn a lot of heads to him with suspicion. Having company always helped put everyone at ease. Since the Hodsons were expected to be seen together most of the times, it would also be helpful if Slade could find someone who could distract the husband, while he took care of the wife.

He knew a few people that would normally be apt for the role, but, unfortunately, none of them were Woodrow's type.

He turned to Wintergreen for help, who then suggested the Court of Owls. They apparently had people to deal with this type of business. At first, he wasn't very keen with the idea, but then Wintergreen told him the Owls were extremely discreet. The fact that Slade barely knew the name, convinced him it was the truth.

And now here they were.

Kite clapped his hands, "So, let's see if I have the correct story. We are the Bradfords. You, Liam Bradford, are a recently divorced man going on a trip with your son, AKA Nathaniel, AKA Nat, AKA me. You and your ex-wife are not in good terms and have this 'war' going on between you two to see who spoils me the most."

Having to pretend to be willingly spoiling a rich brat was something Slade was not looking forward to.

"I'm gay. Mom doesn't know. Probably in denial. You do know, and are fine with it. Not only that, you take it into your advantage to win my side. We leave some hints of this around the target's husband to kindle his interest. We make it so he is the one approaching me. I do my part to keep it afire, and keep him distracted from the target. You do yours, and take the target out. Am I missing something?"

"That is the summary, yes," Slade replied, "I have rules though."

"I expected as much."

Slade nodded, "You will follow my lead every time I demand it. But I am expecting you to take initiative as opportunities arise. You will have to distinguish a father having his will disrespected by his spoiled kid, from me wanting you to actually do something."

"That's fair," Kite nodded, "That is what the next days are for. Get to know each other," the kid winked and smirked, "Anything else?"

~~~

" _What makes you believe there are reasons that could make you worry?_ " the faint voice was heard through the comms. 

Jason was now involuntarily testing the extent of his control.

" _March has finished his call and is returning to the ballroom,_ " B said.

"Got it," Jason replied, anxious to have Dick back at his side.

" _Whether or not you and 'Will' parted ways amicably, you may have reasons to resent me. Why else would you give yourself the trouble?_ " Dick said.

" _Do be useful and take that as an opportunity to take Grayson out of those greasy hands._ " 

And Damian was back. Great...

"Out of detention so soon, pissant?"

" _Stop, both of you,_ " Bruce grunted before Damian could reply, " _This is not the time._ " 

" _Maybe I just wanted to know if there was a hint of the charming young man I once knew. Somewhere buried in there._ "

Fuck!

The music finally died, and so did the dancing.

Fucking finally!

Lincoln March entered the room again, and Jason made his way to the now bowing pair.

" _Do you want him to be here?_ "

Jason was not sure he even wanted to know the answer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Hodsons and Newmans are made up characters.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> Always eager to read your comments 💙💙💙


	4. New Acquaintances

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's so hot in here!!!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you don't get too confused with the names.  
> In summary:
> 
> Dick - Kite - Nathaniel (Nat)  
> Slade - Liam 
> 
> When referring Dick as Kite, it is about that doll persona. When referring him as Nathaniel/Nat is about the role he is playing. The same for Slade when he is referred as Liam.

He had to give credit to the kid. He knew how to put up a show. 

Kite was coming back from his quick swimming on the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea, water still dripping from his body. The body language had seeming natural seductiveness to it. Not excessive, but enough to catch the attention of many glances.

Slade was glad for the sunglasses he was wearing. 

It would not be odd for a father to be looking at his child, but like this he could hide they _way_ he was looking. 

"Hey Pops!"

"Did you forget something?" _Liam_ asked without moving from his spot on the sun lounger.

"Yeah, to put the sunscreen on," _Nathaniel_ replied.

"Do you really need that? Tanned as you are."

"Of course, I do! Have you not heard about skin cancer? Besides the obvious sunburns."

"Huh, back in my time there was no such thing as skin cancer."

Nathaniel rolled his eyes, "Help me with my back, old man?"

Liam grunted as he moved to get up, "Seriously, Nat. Next time, bring your boyfriend with you."

"I don't have a boyfriend. Me and Rob broke up."

Slade didn't miss the slight movement from a nearby lounge.

Amazing! And it was only the second day. 

The kid already managed to make Woodrow try his luck by arriving to the beach earlier than them. When he and Kite arrived, the newlyweds were lying at the pair of sun lounges next the ones they used the day before.

"Then get another one, Nat. I'm sure you can find one quickly. Preferably while we are here so he can rub the sunscreen on you, instead of me," Lian said with no annoyance in his voice.

"What? No! I'm not going to find a boyfriend _here_. I'm not good with long distance relationships. Doesn't mean I won't look for some fun though," Nathaniel said with a wink.

Liam rolled his eyes.

"As long as I don't have to suffer for it. Lie on the lounge, so I can sit." 

Nathaniel did as he was told.

"This time, do get someone about your age," Liam said as he squirted sunscreen on his hand.

"Whatever."

This was going well. Slade had to admit he got a little curious with how the kid would react to his cues. 

"God, Nat! How did you get knots on your back? Did you sleep all contorted again?"

Nathaniel hummed lazily.

Liam then proceeded to massage his son's back. Slade almost regretted it.

The response was perfect. 

So perfect Slade found it hard to keep himself from reacting the way Woodrow did.

When Liam massaged the spot that had the supposed knot, Nathaniel let out a moan that would normally sound innocent. But to an interested party, it was almost pornographic.

Woodrow almost fell of his chair.

~~~

"I'm sorry to interrupt your lovely dancing, but we have work to do," Jason said quietly.

There was no point in pretending they weren't there for a mission, in front of Slade. 

"Of course, I bid you both good luck," Slade replied.

"Should we expect interference?" Jason could not help but ask.

"Not from me. Not that I would tell you if I did plan to do so, right?" Slade grinned.

"Goodbye, Mr. Wilson," Dick said.

"See you soon, Mr. Grayson," he paused, "Mr. Lebenn."

"'the fuck was that all about?" Jason said as soon as Slade was out of earshot.

"You heard the exchange, right? I'm still trying to figure it out myself," Dick replied and turned on his earpiece.

" _Dick, while I appreciate you turning on your microphone, I do not recommend you to turn off your earphone again._ " Bruce's voice was heard.

"Sorry, B. There was too much loud static. I couldn't risk Slade hearing it."

Jason snorted. _Static_. That's what they were calling it now. 

" _I'll keep an eye on Wilson. You two look out for March,_ " Bruce said.

"Roger that," Dick replied with an amused grin. 

A fake amused grin. 

He was nervous, Jason could tell. Not many things could make the previous Doll/Active/Talon/Whatever nervous.

"Do you think Slade is the contact?" Jason tried.

"Could be. He has been a contact before. As a client, sure, but still a contact."

Suddenly, Dick's face changed to an innocent and curious expression.

"Ah, Mr. Grayson, so pleased to meet you," Lincoln March's voice was heard.

"Good evening, Mr. March," Dick said taking and shaking the hand that had been extended to him, "Pleased to meet you too," he turned slightly to Jason, "This is my friend, Peter Lebenn."

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Lebenn."

"Thank you, sir. It's a pleasure," Jason said as he also shook March's hand.

"Thank you for your invitation, Mr. March. I apologize for my father's and brothers' absence."

"No problem. I do regret that I have not had the opportunity to talk with your father, yet. But I am glad you found some time to deal with this old man," March said with a laugh.

Dick gave a small laugh too, "Do not say that to Bruce if you ever do meet him. You are not much older than him."

"Ah! Maybe he is avoiding me because he does not want to be reminded he is an old man himself."

Dick just chuckled at that, "I will be honest, I am still very new to Gotham's society. I am afraid my brother Timothy has the best predisposition for this kind of events. I barely know how to make conversation. I brought my friend here, since he is an enthusiast in political philosophy, so I thought he would be of help. Looks I was mistaken," Dick said playfully.

"You wound me, my friend," Jason replied in the same manner, "I am a philosophy major, not a politician. As such, I have the right to be an introvert."

March laughed, "Do not worry. I will introduce you both around."

\---

Slade's little dancing moment was more than just for the pleasure of it. 

Truth was, he also wanted to know who the Court's contact business at Gotham was.

He took the opportunity of the spinning around to see who kept an interesting gaze on them. More specifically, on the little bird he was dancing with. 

There were many gazes on them.

That was not surprising. The kid easily caught people's attention.

But none of them looked with the kind of intensity he was after. Not even Alissia Prentice. 

In fact, Miss Prentice didn't even look. 

They were here for Richard. He was sure now.

Well. 

Tough luck for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I hope you enjoyed 💙💙💙


	5. When Will It End?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember:
> 
> Dick - Will - Kite - Nathaniel (Nat)  
> Slade - Liam
> 
> When referring Dick as Kite(codename) or Will, it is about that doll persona. When referring him as Nathaniel/Nat is about the role he is playing. The same for Slade when he is referred as Liam.

"Hey, old man! Did you have the fun you wished for?" Nathaniel asked.

The kid was coming out of the bathroom while drying his hair, wearing only boxer shorts. A Nathaniel Bradford habit. Going around showing as much skin as possible.

Slade made himself not look.

"Don't worry, I wouldn't make your time with Woodrow be of waste." 

"I'm not worried. It's my job," Kite replied.

"Then you do not need to ask me if I did mine."

"Fair enough. I apologize."

Slade acknowledged with just a short hum. 

It was then he noticed.

"My information said Woodrow was never rough with his partners."

"You mean the bruises?" Kite laughed.

"What's so funny?"

"I'm surprised you care, that's all."

" _Liam_ would care that _Nathaniel_ had the bruises. So, _I_ care _you_ have them. Liam is not supposed to be on the lookout for whoever marked his son's body."

"Sorry, I thought I could save some make up, since we are in the room."

"You only pause playing your role when I indicate so. That was one of the rules."

Kite sighed in defeat, "Yeah, you are right. I am sorry."

Slade did not comment on the apology. It sounded sincere, at least.

"So? Care to tell me what happened?" Slade asked.

Why was he insisting on the subject? 

"Sorry?"

"I want to know why my intel said one thing, but evidence is showing another. What happened?"

So what, if the guy was getting a bit more excited with Kite than he was with the others he had been with? 

"What? You think a guy who only got vanilla until now, would never try anything else?" Kite snorted.

So what, if Kite had this faint aura telling he was not as unaffected as he was showing to be?

"Why would you offer him 'anything else'?"

"I offered him the experience that came from past relationships, including with a man of his age," Kite said, now with a serious face, "He took the opportunity to taste other flavors. I didn't deny it. That is my job."

"Your job is to be my character's son, not a whore."

"Seriously? Don't you know how a lot of people of Nathaniel's age are in relation to sex?"

Slade knew how youth was. How it had been for many years.

"Geez! I was told you were one of the best professionals. But it seems you are treating me as if I am really your kid. What? Do you see your own son in me?"

Slade wanted to believe he reacted without thought. But he had to force himself to do it. He grabbed Kite by his throat and spoke low and firmly, "I don't see _anyone_ in you."

Slade had to admit. He was not expecting Kite to react as he did. Sure, a kid with a background as he had should know a thing or two about self-defense. But the way he freed himself from Slade's grasp and jumped him, showed mastery in martial arts.

They fought for a bit. Not with rage though. It was almost as sparring. 

It felt good!

It was as if the kid thought this was helping Slade discharge whatever negative energy that had put him in the sour mood he was.

He felt he should be offended. But he _was_ in a mood.

A few moments after, Slade, tired of playing around, got serious and pinned the young man to the floor.

Kite seemed a bit surprised.

God, why was he so beautiful? 

The bright moonlight made his eyes glow, his skin pale blue, his lips...

"Oh..." Kite's voice echoed in his ears.

Slade grunted and released the man, right away, "Got a bit carried away."

"So, that's what it is," Kite said.

"Excuse me?" 

"I'm sorry, I didn't know. I was told you were as straight as they get."

What?

"Geez, if I knew, I'd be more careful around you, so you wouldn't get this frustrated."

"What are you saying?" Slade furrowed his eyebrows.

"It's okay," Kite said as he got closer to him, "I can help."

The young man rested his hands on Slade's chest, then made to open his shirt. 

Slade grabbed him by the wrists.

"What do you think you are doing?" He grunted.

"Seriously! You are obviously with a bad case of sexual tension. If that is going to be in the way of your job, then it is my job to help you get rid of it."

"You think so highly of yourself."

"Don't try to convince me that you only have sex with people you are in a serious relationship with, because I won't buy it."

"I'm warning you, kid."

"Are you really being a prude because of my age? As if you were never in your twenties. Oh! Is it because my age is close to someone that shall not be mentioned?" Kite provoked with an outrageous grin.

"So, what is it, old m-"

Slade shut the young man up with his mouth. Hard.

Fuck. 

The brat got him wrapped around his finger. This wasn't good. He couldn't wait to finish this job and go separate ways.

\---

Will felt like a hypocrite. 

Sure, most of his job revolved around lying. But he promised himself he would not do that to himself.

He was provoking Slade. He wanted the older man to give Will reasons to despise him. He was a mercenary; an assassin. A fancy word for murderer. A free one doing it for money. And fun, probably.

All he was getting from his attempts was a bad case of sexual tension for himself.

He had hoped it was just that. If it were, this night would fix it. 

It didn't.

It helped in a way. But didn't _fix_ it.

God, it got worse.

It turned into something else.

Will was experienced at finding out what his partners liked. He tried to do that with Slade and failed miserably when the other took the lead and ripped out Will's secret desires from him. 

Slade was gentle, as if caring. He didn't treat Will as if he would break, no. Not that kind of gentle. The kind of gentle that made Will almost believe he was in this as a person, not as an object. 

The mercenary said before he didn't see anyone in him. 

At first, Will took it as if Slade was telling him he didn't see him as someone. Now he felt that what he meant was that he didn't see him as anyone else but him. An individual. 

That's how he was losing it.

How could he let it go this far?

He couldn't wait to see the end of this mission, report conflict of interests, and never see the mercenary again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I could have been a bit more descriptive about Dick/Will and Slade's moment but oh well..
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!  
> 💙💙💙


	6. Uninvited Guests

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, I've been forgetting to mention what the different symbols mean:
> 
> *** means some time as passed   
> ~~~ means it is going back/forward in time (as in the beginning or ending of a flashback)  
> \--- means a change of POV
> 
> I hope it's not too confusing, although I believe the context of the story should be enough to understand these changes
> 
> Hope you like it 💙💙💙

"Nice to meet you too, Miss Prentice," Jason says with a smile. 

Prentice was one of their suspects. According to Dick, the woman never even glanced at his and Slade's direction. Even though the people she was talking to couldn't take their eyes of them. 

If she was the contact, either she was not very good at this game, or she wanted to be discovered. Either way, this was a trap, as they had predicted. B dug up and shared some information about her right away.

"Mr. March said you came recently to Gotham?" Dick asked with an innocent voice.

"Oh, it is true. I know this place has a bad reputation. But I like challenges. You cannot make a difference where there are no problems, correct?" 

This was so fucking obvious. What were they trying to play here? She doesn't even mention she was a native Gothamite?

"That is absolutely true, Miss Prentice. Although, I am in the race with the concern for the current state of my hometown. Not so much for the pleasure of a challenge," March replied politely, but with a small hint of disapproval.

"Of course, Mr. March. I do apologize if I sounded insensitive. I am also concerned about the poor conditions many people have in this city. As I had been where I have lived before. But I have to admit, I did find a way to enjoy the process of requalification. Or else I would not be able to cope."

"That is a healthy way to deal with this kind of situations," Jason said, playing his role.

Uh, this was so boring. Listening to people so obviously lying through their teeth about caring for others. Seriously, if Dick wasn't here, Jason would never had offered to do this job.

"Mr. Grayson," March turned to Dick, "if you were kind to spare me a few minutes of your time, so we could talk in private?"

"Sure, Mr. March."

"Mr. Lebenn can come with us, if he wishes so?"

" _Someone should stay with eyes on the suspect._ "

No shit, old man.

"Oh, it is not necessary," Jason said though he didn't really want to leave Dick alone, "I can keep Miss Prentice company. If you do not mind, Miss, I would like to discuss with you more about your work and methods?"

"Not at all," she said, amused, "Charming young man like you? I might even hire you."

Jason pretended he found her funny.

They had expected March could make such request. That is the reason they had bugged his office with cameras. They would only access them if and when Dick was in there, for privacy reasons and all. For audio, they would have Dick's mike. 

This meant Dick was being surveilled. 

Still, Jason could not help but feel a bit anxious.

\---

What were the bats doing?

Why were they letting the bird be taken away out of public view?

Sure, they probably had eyes all over the place, but still, it was too risky.

Slade then saw it. The slight tensing of Richard's body when March put his hand on his back to guide him. March had been doing that to a lot of people that night. There was no reason for Richard to feel uncomfortable. Unless there was something else to it.

Fuck!

He wasn't going to let them take the little bird again.

~~~

"William Crowne," Kite said.

"What's that, little bird?" Slade asked, a little confused by the unfamiliar name.

They were in bed. Kite was a cuddler, and Slade didn't mind it at all.

It had been about a month since they first met. Less since they arrived at St. Barts. Slade had quit trying to understand how this happened. How could he so quickly let himself get to this position.

He had never seen someone so suited and unsuited for this life. As kid said, he was the best at what he did. But he hated it. Kite never said a thing, but Slade knew. 

Kite had a good heart and it was clear that it killed him inside to harm or help someone harm other people. 

"My real name. Is William Crowne. Or Will if you prefer," ~~Kite~~ Will said.

"Why are you telling me this?" Slade had to admit he was not expecting to ever hear it from Will's lips.

Will rolled, setting himself a little on top of Slade, head raised to meet his eye.

"Because, as strange as it may sound, I trust you won't misuse it."

Slade took a sharp breath.

"You are right. I won't."

Will smiled and laid his head on his chest.

"Why don't you come work for me? I can give you greater flexibility when it comes to the jobs you take."

"I can't."

Slade thought as much.

"What do they have on you?"

Will hesitated.

"My little sister," the young man whispered.

"What if I arrange for her to be safe?"

"You'd go to so much trouble to recruit me?" Will chuckled.

"You know it is not just because of that," Slade tried.

Will raised his head again and then gave his sad smiled.

"That is sweet of you, Slade. But it is not wise."

The little bird leaned forward and kissed him, straddling him in the process. The kiss was soft and slow, but soon Slade felt the sweet friction of Dick's hips on his. 

What a way to change a subject.

~~~

He headed towards the pair's direction when his path was blocked by a couple.

"Good evening, sir. I believe we have not been introduced," the man said.

"Oh, we are both so curious to know more about the dance partner of Wayne's eldest son," the woman chuckled, amused. 

"You two were amazing at the dance floor. No one could help but behold you both," the man continued without giving Slade time to speak, "I wish we could-"

"I apologize for interrupt you, sir. I am afraid I am in need of dealing with an urgent matter. I will try and meet you later, if you still wish so."

"Oh, of course. Our apologies. Whenever you have time," the main said getting out of Slade's way.

They were already gone. He already lost precious time. 

"And where the fuck do you think you are going?" Slade heard Todd saying.

When he turned to the boy, he noticed he was alone.

"What do you want? Why are you following _me_?" he asked without stopping.

The kid blocked his path. Great.

"Because you are clearly using Prentice to distract me!"

Shit.

"Get out of the way. We need to get to Richard," Slade said with a low voice.

The kid seemed to understand what was happening, because he himself started walking fast in the same direction Slade was previously going. 

"Let me guess. You tipped us about Prentice," Todd asked. He was trying to sound tough, but his voice faltered just a bit.

"Yep. I guess someone was expecting me to do so."

"They wanted you here so we would suspect you were involved. Great job," Todd spat.

"Don't give me that look, kid. You were the one who left Richard alone."

"What do you want with him, anyway?"

"That's one of you busi-"

The windows of the room shattered from the outside. Several men slung through them, masked and armed.

Some shots were fired to the ceiling, hitting a chandelier. Small crystals fell like rain.

"Good evening, everyone," one of the men said, "I do not suppose I have to ask you to not to move." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst, have you noticed?   
> It already says 6/10 chapters, meaning, I've finished this part of the story o(*^w^*)o
> 
> As usual, love to -read- from you 💙💙💙💙💙


	7. Where is the Little Bird?

Adela Hodson was going to be found around the break of dawn.

It took some time, but eventually an opportune moment came.

Will kept Woodrow pining for him for a week. Then the affair began, under the agreement it was to be kept secret. After all, Nathaniel also did not want his father to know he was with yet another older man. 

Adela knew. She married Woodrow knowing exactly her husband's preferences. And he knew she knew. That was why he chose her. She was willing to accept the farse.

That meant she was "free" to do the same. After all, she would want to be sure she would get pregnant. Since it did not seem she would get that from Woodrow, she would have to look elsewhere. She probably would then make so they would end up "both" drunk and pretend that they actually ended up consummating their marriage. If she hadn't done that already.

Whatever were her plans, they did not matter, now.

Her body was now floating in the pool of her secret lover. All evidence pointing to said lover who was currently asleep. 

An unfortunate accident that sadly may happen when one is too drunk. And prone to violence.

With eyewitnesses seeing her leave the Hodson's villa, and none seeing Will entering that same house, it would be easy to make it seem Adela was the only one having an affair. 

  
Slade arrived at their own villa first. That was to be expected. 

What Slade did not expect was for Will to be late when the time came for him to return. 

First, he thought the young man might have had a small complication. Common in their line of business. But as the minutes passed by, Slade was sure something was wrong.

This was the first time he felt the need to use the tracker Will gave him on the day they met. He never had to worry about Will's whereabouts before. 

The GPS signal was then pointing to his pretty bird. As he feared, Will's position was nowhere between their and the Hodsons' villas. For what he could see, the bird was closer to du Pont's.

Adnaan du Pont was a French politician whose popularity was growing each day. He had some views that made some of his rivals fume with hate. And that was what Slade was worried about.

What was Will doing there? 

The signal went off.

Shit!

He picked his own tracker. Yes, because he was that paranoid. He had good reasons to be, doing what he does. At first, he put on Will's person because he didn't trust him. Now, it was not about trusting the kid but those who owned him.

His tracker was also off.

Fuck!

He made it to du Pont's place as fast as he could, while glad he didn't take off his gear as soon as he got back. Everything looked peaceful enough at the place. Dark and quiet. No signs of disturbance at all.

What happened to Will? Why were the trackers down? Were they removed, destroyed or just jammed? 

He had seen the strange implant on the kid's head. He could not imagine how someone would damage or remove it so quickly without killing him. The fact that the place the signal last indicated him to be was clean kept Slade from fearing the worst.

Where was he?

Slade decided to try the house. There wasn't much security around, so it would not be hard to enter and leave undetected, like he did when dealing with Adela. 

No. It is not that there was not much security. There _had_ been the expected security. It was just taken out. 

Cameras and alarms were off, guards were dead. Outside and inside the house.

Someone was there to kill the man. That did not surprise Slade. The du Pont had dangerous enemies. 

But how was Will involved in this?

"No plea-" a voice was cut out followed by a thump, coming from inside the main bedroom.

Slade had to confirm his suspicion about what was truly happening. It was confirmed as soon as he opened the door to see the figure standing above the guest couple covered in their own blood. A small blade was half buried in Adnaan's throat still squirting blood while the man gasped with shock in his eyes.

"Will..."

The assassin turned his head to look at him. That man was not Will. It looked like Will, but it wasn't _him_.

"Our contract is finished," not-Will said, "Do not worry, for all be arranged so this death will not be associated to your target's."

Piercing golden eyes almost glowed in the dark.

"This will even help hide its importance."

Not-Will then turned to the sliding glass doors that led to the outdoor pool area.

"Where do you think you are going?" Slade asked, grabbing the controller Will gave him that supposedly could incapacitate him.

"As I said before, the contract is finished. Eyewitnesses put us leaving the island early in the morning. You were to be contacted and informed of this in due time."

"That was not part of the plan," Slade grunted.

"Kite's job was to help you take out your target. It is done. So, it is finished."

"Why did you feel like acting like you did around me, Will?"

"Will?" the young man gave a mocking chuckle, "He is known to turn even the cruelest heads around. I'll have to report it, so he is not used for this type of job again. I advise you to forget him though. Ah, and don't bother with the controller. It was deactivated as soon as I took over. Have a good night."

Wi-Kite? Whoever he was swiftly left the room. Slade did not bother to follow.

How could he be so fucking stupid? 

~~~

" _Go find Dick! We will take care of this,_ " B said.

"Don't have to say it twice, I'm already on my way," Jason replied.

He was close to the ballroom doors Dick and March went through, that lead to the corridor where the latter's office could be found. The doors were closed, probably locked. He had to be quick to go through them, before the commotion calmed down, or else he would have to wait for the Big Bat and Bat Jr. to make their move.

Before Jason could attempt to open the door, Slade kicked it open.

"Nu-uh, you are not coming!" Jason said right away.

Slade didn't even care to reply and engaged with the armed men guarding the door from the same group that crashed into the ballroom. Jason took his chance to run through them and head for the office. The sounds coming from the ballroom told him that the others were already dealing with that part of the problem. 

When Jason arrived by the door, he found it was also locked. This one had to be forced open too. He got back a few steps to gain enough space to ram into it with his shoulder. But before he could do that, Slade appeared and kicked it down.

"Fucking seriously? I was about to open it myself!"

"They are not here," Slade said.

The room was empty indeed. And the window was broken.

"This doesn't make sense," Jason said as he looked through the window, the shards on the floor indicating it was broken from the outside. "They entered the room. They surely didn't get out from the window."

"The door was locked from the inside," Slade noticed.

"So, where the fuck are they?" Jason snarled.

Slade seemed concentrated in investigating the room, touching everywhere.

"Do you really think-" Jason was interrupted when a click was heard and a bookshelf slid sideways to reveal a secret passage that hid a staircase, "So fucking cliché."

Slade, once again, did not say anything to Jason's comment and ran down the stairs.

"Great. I've got to deal with this bastard too." Jason murmured as he followed the older man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't have much to say today (too sleepy), except that I hope you enjoyed and am always happy to know what you think of the story/chapter 💙💙💙💙💙💙💙


	8. Black, White and Gray

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What is canon indeed. Never heard of it.

"This is a fucking maze!" the kid said, "How the fuck are we going to find him?"

"By tracking him," Slade simply replied.

"What part of Dick went completely silent did you not understand? His tracker is down."

"The one you use, yes, but not mine," he said as he took his phone from his pocket, so he could check Richard's position.

"The fuck? You put a tracker on him? And how come your works?"

"I suspected something like this could happen. I had wished to avoid it, but one must always be prepared for the worst. As for why this works, this is not the first time I put a tracker on the little bird, and I've learned my lesson regarding the Court's jammers. Let's leave it at that, shall we?"

"I don't like this one bit, but right now what matters is to find Dick. We'll deal with you later," Todd said while grunting.

"Don't worry kid, I don't like our predicament more than you do."

\---

Dick woke up with a terrible headache.

He was in a small dark concrete room, no windows, restrained to a sort of medical chair.

Last thing he remembered he was putting himself between the man that came through the window and March. He had not been sure who the attacker was after. If he was there for March or him. And he did not want to take any risk in case he was dealing with someone hired to assassinate the host of the gala.

The pain on the back of his head told him he must have been attacked from behind. Was there someone else in the room? Or was March behind all this?

He was answered right away, when the door opened, and March walked in.

"It is good to see that you are awake," the man said as he approached Dick and sat by his side, "I am sorry for knocking you out, but I do not believe you would have surrendered peacefully."

"Do you work for the Court?" Dick asked upfront.

"Work for? A _am_ the Court. The Parliament even."

"Parliament?"

"We, as a whole, are the Parliament. We divide into several Courts."

"And who are _you_ , really?"

"Not, _you_ , Richard", the man reached with his hand to cup Dick's cheek, " _We_. You are part of us too. And you and I, we are the key pieces of the Parliament of Owls."

"Y-You are _him_ ," Dick concluded, familiarized with the touch and the utterance of his name, " _Owlman_."

"I am happy you recognize me, Richard," Owlman said with a soft smile.

"I suppose Lincoln March is not the real you."

"Indeed, it is not," Owlman paused, "I am Thomas Wayne, Jr."

"W-what?" Dick stuttered, "T-Thomas- Bruce's older brother?"

"The one and the same."

"He-he's dead."

"Am I, now?" Thomas chuckled, "You could say I died once. But I have been reborn. From white to black."

"You did always speak in lame metaphors," Dick scoffed.

"And you always replied with poor wit," Thomas said with no spite. Perhaps even a bit amused.

"Well, I didn't get out much to be able to learn better jokes."

"That was something unfortunate I was not in agreement with."

"I thought you were in charge?"

"I am now. When the ones previously at the top went down after failing you," Thomas said with distaste in his voice, "They made you, the Gray Son, into a doll. Used you for petty errands. Let outsiders take advantage of your great skills, of your body... They should have nurtured you as yourself. You cannot be a Grayson if you are living the lives of non-existing people." 

"And what do you want with a Grayson? Don't tell me you also believe the silly prophecy about me being a sort of key for the Cour-Parliament to prosper."

"Oh, no. I do not believe in the prophecy, per se. There are many members that do take it literally. But you see, you and I are symbols. Black, white and gray. And symbols are powerful."

"You keep talking in this monochromatic way... are you color blind, or something?" 

"Whether people believe in the prophecy or not, we have the power to change things. To make the world ours. Shape it as we will."

"What if I don't want to participate in this revolution of yours?" Dick knew he had no say in it, but he wanted to know what exactly was planned for him.

"You will, Richard. I know my brother had a great influence in your way of seeing things. You see, you were meant to be mine from the beginning. Not his. _I_ should have raised you. But Bruce snatched you, and I lost that opportunity. We had to get you against your will. I had lost the chance of shaping your mind. That was when they decided to turn you into a doll. I objected. Told them there was a better way. But they said they wanted to take advantage of the situation until you were old enough to become what you are meant to be."

"And what better way was that?"

"The way I am going to use now," Thomas said as he got up from the chair he was sitting on, "I am going to make your mind mine. Going to give you the memories you should have had from the beginning."

"So much for hating the idea of me being a doll! That's exactly you are saying you are going to make me into!" Dick raised his voice in anger.

"Yes, I guess that, in a way, you will be a doll. An alternate Richard Grayson. _My_ doll."

Thomas then went to the door and opened it. He signaled someone that was outside to enter. Two men that appeared to be nurses came in with some medical equipment, including an IV bag.

"I will try to keep you as _you_ as much as I can," Thomas promised, "But do not hold to the hope of being back to who you are now. Your current memories will be permanently erased. Not even my brother will manage to recover them."

"Wait!" Dick tried, but Thomas left.

The nurses started handling the equipment and preparing the needle of the IV tube. Dick wanted to stall. To give the others time to find him. But he noticed what the nurses were injecting to the IV bag. He would not be able to stay conscious for long.

Shit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 💙💙💙💙💙 for you all


	9. Preparation Is Key

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I took so long to post this chapter.   
> My kitten got really sick and had to be hospitalized and I was so worried I couldn't think straight.  
> But he is alright now, and at home playing with his toys and destroying my hands, arms, feet and legs ❤

"You are too slow," Slade said to Jason, when they finished to take out a few talons.

"Yeah? I would take them out faster if I had swords too or, you know, if I could shoot my guns!" Jason retorted.

Both have been avoiding making too much noise, trying to be as stealthy as possible, not to alert the owls of their coming. For Slade, who carried his katanas with him -God knows how he managed to conceal them- it was easy. Jason only had his guns... and no silencer.

"It's your own fault if you're missing the necessary gear."

They were at an underground facility, connected to the tunnels the passageway of March's office led them to. 

Slade's tracker was amazing. It managed to bypass the signal disruptor used by the Court, while Bruce's did not. He would have to find a way to steal it from the Mercenary.

"Don't even think of it," Slade said.

"What?"

"Touch my gear and I'll cut off your hands."

Jason grouched.

"We are close," Slade whispered.

"You sure?" He whispered back, just in case, " This place seems pretty empty. I would think it would be heavily guarded," Jason paused at a realization, "Or maybe your tracker isn't as good as you think and they just kept it working so we would follow its signal to a trap, while Dick was taken somewhere else."

"No, I would be alerted if the tracker was taken of."

"Uh... Where exactly did you put the tracker?" Jason was not liking the image going through his head.

Slade did not reply and made his way to the door that supposedly lead to the room where Dick was in. The door was locked, but it was fairly easy to unlock it.

Dick! 

Jason almost ran to him right away but stopped himself to analyze the surroundings. This had to be a trap. But there was no real evidence of it. 

It was a sort of medical room, with Dick strapped on the table at the center, unconscious, as if prepared for surgery. 

"Fuck! Were they going to turn him to a doll again?" Jason asked, not surprised with the idea itself but the hurry in it.

Slade grunted, and put his hand under Dick's head, where it met his neck.

"Good thing we arrived quickly enough," the man said, after confirming the brainwashing device was not there.

"Yeah, but I'm still not convinced this is not a trap."

"And you still fell for it," they heard a voice say.

"Owlman," Slade said after turning to the voice's source.

"Owlman? The Owlman that kept creeping around back when Dick was allowed his true personality, between his doll missions?"

"Richard told you about me? Interesting."

"Of course he did! He had to make sure we all knew you so we could kick your sorry ass if we ever came across you," Jason spat.

"How adorable. I must say, I was expecting more company than just you two. Wilson and Todd. I thought you would have at least two Waynes accompanying you."

Jason grunted at that. He was aware the Owls knew their identities, but that did not mean he was comfortable with it.

"Did your villain speech you are about to make us suffer through mentioned the missing guests specifically?" Jason asked. 

"Well, one of them was the main guest," Owlman said with slight disappointment in his voice.

B.

"Although Mr. Wilson here is one I am happy to have made it," he continued.

"Slade?" Jason felt uneasy at that. And ignored as if he was small fry.

"You have given us too much trouble in the past, Mr. Wilson. And I could see you intended to keep doing so, after the Parliament's rebirth."

"Thank you," Slade said with a smug face.

"What was your plan? Take us down and turn on the bats?" Owlman chuckled, "You can't have him back, Mr. Wilson. William is gone."

Slade was still with his smug expression showing on his face but his eyes. If he had been kryptonian, Jason was sure the man would have fried Owlman with his glare.

"It was a first. I must say, you did a number on him."

"What is he talking about, Slade?" What kind of a "number" did Slade did on Dick?

"It kept resurfacing, you know? Never as Richard, but as the other personas. Although Richard kept the memories very vividly. It was a hindrance. The only thing we could do was to completely erase the persona. It was the first time we had to do such thing."

"And you still failed to do it competently," Slade snarked.

"Did we, now?" Owlman asked casually with a grin on his face, but Jason notice his shoulders tense.

"I spoke with Richard, and he had vague memories of who I was, and that we worked together. If Will had been completely erased of his memories, then that should not be possible. Am I correct?" 

"Well, if that is the case, we'll make sure to find those remnant traces and wipe them out too."

"And why do you think we will let you do whatever you wish with Dick?" Jason snarled.

"Because I prepared this trap for at least four of you, but there are only two," Owlman said as several talons made to enter the room, "This time, I am using the best of them. I would not make the same mistake the others did two years ago."

Fuck. 

There were far too many talons, in a too small space. They had little to no chance of winning. 

Why was Slade looking so calm?

"I couldn't have planned this better, if I wished," the mercenary said.

Slade took out a device from his pocket and switched it on. A second after, it made a deafening high-pitched sound that Jason could not help but to cover his ears. One by one, the Talons started falling on the floor, twitching as if they were being tased, before going limp.

"I don't know if it was a common mistake from the Court's part, or Will's parting gift, but I was left with a similar controller, back in Saint Barthélemy. Of course, I did some improvements, and ran some tests, to be sure it worked."

"H-how?" Jason was still perplexed.

"Even Talon volunteer have a chip in them. And, of course, the fail-safe."

"So much for 'volunteers', heh?" Jason snorted.

"How dare you?" Owlman snarled.

"I just explained how," Slade replied.

"Please leave the silly jokes for Dick," Jason said, uncomfortable with the mercenary trying to be funny.

Owlman made his move. He pulled up a gun and shot at them. After Jason barely managed to avoid it, he followed suit and shot back.

"And here I thought you owls just used blades," Jason commented with a snort.

"And here I thought you bats despised guns," Owlman retorted.

"I'm not a bat, birdbrain!"

Owlman was now evading Slade's swords, making it harder for Jason to aim. Not that he would mind shooting the mercenary down. But at the time it would not be helpful.

A blade flew right beside him and landed on the table Dick was lying on. Thankfully, it missed the bird.

"Should we take this outside, guys?" Jason shouted, "I believe none of us want Dick to be collateral damage of our dance."

It seemed the old men heard him, as Owlman stepped back through the door, Slade following him behind.

Jason took the opportunity to check Dick again, to see if he got hurt by Owlman's shooting. He drew out a breath of relief when he saw no injuries. 

"I'll be right back, Dickie." he said to the unconscious man, "Just need to take out Hootman first."

When Jason made it out the room, he only saw Slade. 

"'The fuck? Where's the chicken?"

"He chickened out," Slade replied, "He understood he had no chance of winning and ran away."

"Seriously, don't do puns. And what do you mean? Surely he thought he could beat us both, or else he would run as soon as his Talons were out."

Jason then heard the footsteps.

"Hood," the familiar grave voice said.

"Where is Richard?" another familiar and shrieking voice sounded.

"Ah, now I get it," Jason said to Slade.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are always welcome 💙💙💙


	10. There Can Be Only One

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter... of this part :D

_"We cannot keep this going, we cannot let this persona take control. What if it takes over Richard too?"_

_He recognized that distorted voice._

_Owlman._

_He opened his eyes. He wasn't sure where he was._

_"No, Richard. Lay down, it's okay," Owlman said, now next to him, holding him down by his shoulders._

_He didn't even notice that he was trying to get up._

_"What happened?" Dick asked._

_"Nothing for you to worry about," Owlman said, voice as soft as he could manage, "It will not happen again, anyway."_

_Ah. Was it 'Will' again?_

_The persona who fell in love._

_He had vivid memories of him. Of_ them _._

_It wasn't him, though. But still he wished to hold on to those memories. Of all his personas, Will was the only that got something from a job that he considered good. Even if the other man, Slade, was still an assassin. There was still hope. Perhaps of change._

_He closed his eyes and saw himself in the dark void. Not himself but Will. He was smiling softly._

_Dick smiled back._

_"I may have been away, but I see you have found something for yourself," Will said to him._

_"What do you mean, gone?"_

_"You and I cannot coexist," Will continued, softly, "It would not be fair for them."_

_"Them?"_

-

Dick!

-

_"It is your choice, Dick. I won't interfere with it. But be assured that if you choose me, I won't give it back to you."_

_"Give me back what?"_

_"You. Yourself. Your life. I will fight to keep mine. To keep your body."_

-

Dick wake up!

-

_"You will go to Slade. Try to change him," Dick concluded._

_"I don't know if I would ever be able to do it. But I would at least try."_

-

Richard.

-

_"They are calling, Dick," Will looked up to the void, "Who will you answer to?"_

-

Please, Dickie.

\---

Dick opened his eyes.

Jason exhaled in relief.

"Welcome back, Dickie," Jason said with a big smile he could not avoid showing.

"Who-who are you?" Dick said and Jason's heart fell to his stomach.

"N-no..." 

Dick smiled hazily and let out a soft chuckle "Gotcha."

Jason would be extremely pissed if the relief he felt all over again did not extinguish that feeling, "Fuck, Dick! You really are a _dick_!"

"I love you too, Jaybird." 

Dick looked around and sat up with Jason's help.

"We're at one of my bases," Jason said and looked at Slade, "It was about to be decommissioned, anyway."

"Richard!" The Devil's spawn voice sounded loudly, followed by quick footsteps.

"Hey, Robin," Dick said with a soft voice, "Were you the one who saved me?"

"I have to admit that I did not do much, but I did learn that the bastard who took you fled with his tail between his legs, as soon as he heard me and Father arriving."

Leave it for the bat brat to try for humbleness and fill it will BS.

"Owlman?" Dick asked.

"He escaped," Batman said, joining them too.

"Oh."

"We'll find him," B assured, "We suspect him to be Lincoln March. The man disappeared, and the circumstances point he was in it all along."

"I know who he is," Dick said and everyone got their attention on him, "He was so sure he would not fail, he actually shared it with me. He _is_ Lincoln March and he _isn't_."

"An alias?" Slade asked.

"Yes."

"Who is he, then?" Jason asked.

"I'm not sure you want it to be revealed in the presence of everyone, B."

Slade shifted a little and grunted.

"I don't think you knowing his name will help you find him, Slade." 

"I understand, pretty bird. I will find about him myself."

"Great, now you can leave," Jason said.

"You show little gratitude, for someone who could not get to Richard if not with my help," Slade said, looking at him with a somewhat annoyed expression in his single eye.

"Thank you, Slade," Dick said, "I mean it. I'm also sorry for Will."

"You remember him?" Slade said.

"Yes. But I cannot _be_ him. He cannot come back. Nor do I wish to."

"You are a lot like him, you know? As for him not being able to come back, we shall see. Until then, do be careful not to get caught again." 

Slade moved to leave.

"What the fuck does that mean, Slade?" Jason asked. He could not help but feel threatened by what the old man said.

"You think we are going to let you go after saying that?" Robin snarled.

Well, when it came to keep Dick safe, he and the imp tended to agree more often than not.

"Goodbye Slade," Dick said.

Slade grunted and left.

"Father!" Damian protested.

"We'll keep an eye on him, Robin," Batman said.

"I vote we take out the one that he's got left," Jason spat.

"Leave him, Jay. He just learned that someone he cared about is dead," Dick said.

"I don't think that was what he was feeling, when he left."

"It was just denial. Or perhaps his way not to show weakness," Dick tried to reason.

"Let's hope it is just that, Dickie. I'm not convinced, though."

Great. Another one to look out for.

At least the Court/Parliament of Owls took a big hit again. _If_ they were able to recover, it should even take them way longer than last time.

"So, tell us, Dick. Who is Owlman," Bruce asked.

Dick gave him a sad look.

Then he told them what happened that night from his point of view.

None of them expected what he revealed.

***

"Fuck, Dickie, you feel so good!" Jason panted while Dick rode him slowly.

"And you have no idea how good _you_ feel," Dick replied, picking up the pace.

There was a duet of panting and moaning for several minutes more, before their voices reached their climax and went almost silent right after, only short low breaths were heard.

Dick laid himself down on Jason, knowing the other enjoyed the feeling of his weight. Dick hummed in contentment when Jason wrapped his arms around him, as if he did not want to let go of him, and kissed his head.

"What are you thinking, Dickie bird?" 

"Right now, I don't think I am able to think," Dick chuckled and Jason joined him.

"I hear you, I was only asking to see if I it was possible to recover my own mind."

They both laughed softly.

Dick then thought he was never going to get tired of this. They shared a level of intimacy he never thought he would ever get. He had always planned to escape the Court of Owls, but he did not hold too much hope for a normal life. Not that he now had a normal life. But it was a good life.

It wasn't until he met Jason that he remembered how much he loved the human touch. And it wasn't until he met Jason he learned how much he could love this kind of affectionate and warm human touch.

No matter the threats that still lurked, he felt safe.

Until...

"What was that?" Dick said jerking his head towards the window.

"What was what?" Jason asked, alerted.

They both stared to the semi-darkness of the late hour of the night. They saw nothing.

"What did you see?" Jason asked. 

Dick loved how Jay didn't put it off right away. Yes, it was normal in their line of work to be paranoid, but it was still endearing.

"I didn't see anything as much as felt it," Dick replied, "It was probably nothing."

"It is hardly ever nothing with us, Dick," Jason said, signaling to get up, "We better make sure."

"Thank you!" Dick smiled.

"For what?"

"For being here."

"Of course, Dickie," Jason kissed him, "You better stay here too."

"I will fight for it," Dick assured.

"I will fight for it too."

\---

Outside, a different bird of prey watched the events happening inside the small apartment.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I know the part with Thomas seems a bit lacking. But I did not want for him to be defeated just yet. ;)
> 
> Thank you so much for reading this story, for all your kudos and comments! Hope you enjoyed it 💙💙💙
> 
> My next multi-chapter story will probably be a Marvel one, but I'm already working on the full version of the teaser "Royal Blue".
> 
> Meanwhile, I might write other DC shorts or teasers.


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